Inaugural NGS Bootcamp

No Greater Sacrifice is delighted to share our inaugural NGS Bootcamp was a success. Last month in Washington, DC, we hosted over twenty NGS Scholars who will be entering their freshman year of college. Accompanied by a guardian, all Scholars participated in various workshops culminating to elevate their personal, educational, financial and professional development and had a ton of fun exploring some of Washington, DC's most iconic sites. We are grateful to these wonderful Scholars and their families for trusting us with their time, energy, and attention as they ventured to our capital city for our inaugural NGS Bootcamp.

Granted one-on-one sessions with NGS staff, Scholars and staff worked closely to co-create an individualized Academic & Financial Roadmap which serves as an introductory template for their upcoming path through college, equipping them with expectations regarding their desired academic and professional trajectory, and clarity concerning the inner workings of their scholarship.

Further, Scholars rotated through workshop stations where they received assistance crafting their own biography and resume, wrote a letter to their future self which helped begin to shape their personal vision, gained access to a special lecture from one of our partners, LinkedIn, had a professional headshot taken, and participated in fun activities. We would like to offer a huge thank you to our incredible partner Microsoft for gifting each of our scholars a laptop.

While touring DC, NGS Scholars and families had the opportunity to experience the sacred ground of Arlington National Cemetery and visit the famed Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

It was our honor and joy to help facilitate the learnings, experiences, and most importantly, the interpersonal connections which were fostered within our courageous incoming freshman cohort and broader No Greater Sacrifice community. We could not have accomplished this event without the help of our tremendous partners, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Matt Mendelsohn Photography & Creative. Next, we extend deep gratitude to our family of donors who gave generously to enact the vision of this event. In addition to our partners and donors, we owe a truly unpayable debt to our volunteers, including talented photographers and NGS Scholars, Morgan Masson and Isabella Ravella.

NGS Scholar and NGS Bootcamp attendee, Conner Reese:

"I feel extremely grateful and honored to have been invited to the NGS Bootcamp trip in our nation’s capital. They called it a Bootcamp, but in reality, it was an incredibly fun, uniting, and educational three-day experience with the heartwarming feelings of community, acceptance, and appreciation permeating throughout the entire trip. All of the NGS organizers were incredibly joyous and ecstatic every second of the trip and made everyone feel warm inside and welcomed. I would attend another NGS Bootcamp in a heartbeat!"